From the Crutchfield Archives

Crutchfield experts Robert and Ken discuss some of the high-performance design features that make JVC Arsenal car speakers a good choice for high-quality sound in your car.

Robert: Hi, I'm Robert.

Ken: And I'm Ken.

Robert: And we're here today in the Crutchfield studio to talk about JVC's Arsenal line of car speakers. Arsenal is JVC's high-performance line of mobile audio gear, and we have with us the component sets and coaxial speakers. We're gonna start with the components.

Ken: First of all, there's a 2-year warranty and some impressive build quality. The woofer cone is a blend of hemp and glass fibers. It's light and strong.

Robert: And that blend means you're going to get nice, clean sound. Something you don't often see in the middle of a woofer cone is a big chunk of metal.

Ken: Yeah that's cool. It's called JVC's Radiating Equalizer. First off it radiates heat. This metal post is connected back to the motor structure to eliminate heat and then the shape of this radiates the mid-range more cleanly.

Robert: And that's gonna give you a nice blend of the mids and the lows for cleaner smoother sound.

Ken: To go with the lows you need some highs. The tweeter has a strong neodymium magnet and the tweeter pivots so when you install it you can direct the highs where you want. It also comes with a mounting cup so you can mount it flush into your door. The tweeter itself is a titanium dome surrounded by silk.

Robert: And JVC does that because sometimes a titanium tweeter can be a little too bright, almost harsh, so by ringing it with the silk it smoothes it out for a nice, even sound.

Ken: Exactly. Now tying it all together is the crossover. The crossover of course sends the highs to the tweeter and the lows to the woofer. This one has a pretty cool little extra bonus. Check that out.

Robert: That's a power connection.

Ken: Yeah. You don't need a power connection to use the crossover, but when you hook power to this, it glows blue.

Robert: And if you're putting together a nice show car system that little thing's gonna turn some heads.

Ken: I think it will.

Robert: So that's the low-down on the component speakers. These are available in 5-1/4, 6-1/2 and 5x7 sizes.

Ken: Let's take a look at the coaxials now. Now these coaxials share some of the technical features of the component systems. For example there's a titanium silk dome tweeter. Some pretty cool innovations too. Check out the position of the tweeter.

Robert: Right. The first thing you'll see is that the tweeter itself is recessed into the woofer cone instead of sitting up on top of it.

Ken: Yeah and there's three real advantages to that. First is better fit. You'll see the tweeter doesn't stick above the level of the woofer.

Robert: And that means when you try to put it in your car, it's not going to get smashed by the door panel.

Ken: Secondly, there's better time alignment because the tweeter 's right at the same level as the woofer.

Robert: So the lows and the highs reach your ears at the same time and that means it's gonna sound better.

Ken: And the tweeter is actually tied into the motor structure here so it radiates heat through the basket and that gives you better heat dissipation.

Robert: And since you're sucking the heat off that tweeter mechanism, it's gonna last longer.

Ken: Exactly. Let's take a look at this external crossover. Now, usually external crossovers are only found with component systems. A higher-quality, better crossover gives you better sound. And it's easy to hook up too. You notice how we have two sets of terminals, woofer and tweeter, and we've got two sets of quick slides here, one for each. Now these are all individually sized to match those tabs. It's impossible to hook it up incorrectly.

Robert: Wow. So what you're getting with these coaxial speakers are a lot of the benefits of component speakers, built into a coaxial.

Ken: And that's the high-performance Arsenal line of speakers from JVC. And by the way, Crutchfield is the only authorized online dealer for JVC Arsenal.

Robert: And you can learn more about these speakers at crutchfield.com/JVCspeaker.

Ken: Or give us a call at 1-800-555-9408.

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Crutchfield Writer Biography

Ken Nail

Ken Nail has written about car audio for Crutchfield since 2003, after four years as Crutchfield Sales Advisor, and 10 years as a music teacher. He's an avid music listener, whose favorites are classical and film music. When not chained to a desk, Ken spends most of his time training for triathlons and marathons, and likes getting outside for backpacking, downhill skiing, and bicycle touring. He attended West Virginia University, where he received a Master's Degree in Music Performance and a Bachelor's Degree in History.

Robert Ferency-Viars

Robert Ferency-Viars is the managing editor for the Crutchfield car A/V learning content, and has been with the company since 1999. A Virginia native from the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he loves spending time with his wonderful wife and sons, listening to music, writing, and playing games with friends. Robert's love for car audio began at 16 when he installed his first car stereo.
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